When it comes to web development, there are many resources that you can find online. Whether you’re a beginner programmer or a veteran developer, it is a never-ending process. Things change every year, so what might be common five years ago might be obsolete today.
Web development is a dynamic industry that needs learners to regularly brush up on their skills. While programming languages don’t change as much, their applications do. Here are the top x things that you should know about web development.
HTML and CSS Is The Bare Minimum
HTML and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) are the bread and butter of front-end (client-side) programming. These languages aren’t just for making websites look pretty, though. They also play a vital role in how sites function. Knowing these can be the bare minimum for those looking to become web developers.
HTML5 and CSS3 are the latest versions, and while they may look different, they still accomplish similar tasks. However, they are only the basics. To make a website look good, one also needs JavaScript and PHP. You can animate, create a dynamic website, or connect to a database with those.
If you’re looking to learn even a little more, you should consider learning JavaScript. Regardless, HTML and CSS are the two bedrocks of web development. Most of the changes that you see on the web, like rounded corners, shadows, gradients, etc., are all done in these two languages.
Web Development Code is Easily Accessible
Coding is more accessible than ever before. You can use many tools and tutorials to learn how to code. Codecademy is a great place to start. Free coding courses (with paid options) will teach you the basics.
Apart from online resources, there are also offline classes you can take. In-person courses are more interactive, and they often offer one-on-one time. You may not be able to learn everything you need to learn for free, but there are plenty of free or inexpensive resources.
The best programming languages for beginners vary, depending on your needs. Regardless if you want to learn front-end code like HTML and CSS or backend code like Python and PHP, you can easily find resources online.
The Internet Is More Secure Than Ever
The war between hackers and netizens has been ongoing for decades. Both sides are improving at what they do, but the Internet is safer than ever.
With tools like Cloudflare, you can secure your site from DDoS attacks. While security is always essential, it is critical for e-commerce websites and online stores.
Aside from that, you can also add HTTPS to your website, which makes it even more secure and ensures that any data you enter is encrypted. You can add whatever certificates you need, such as Wildcard SSL Certificate and Multi-Domain (SAN) Certificates. In 2017, Google, Mozilla, and other major companies started pushing toward HTTPS.
Before this, HTTP was the standard protocol for transmitting information on the Internet. This worked just fine, but there were some security risks. Malicious actors could intercept data sent over an unsecured connection.
When users visit a site with “HTTPS” in the address, it uses SSL/TSL (Secure Socket Layer/Transport Security Protocol) to encrypt the information. This means that even if someone gets hold of your data, it will be indecipherable to them.
Every web developer needs to learn how to secure their websites. Following through with the development of these protocols should give you a good idea of where to start.
You Never “Finish” A Website
Even the best developers in the world make mistakes. Nobody is perfect, and that’s especially true for something as complex as the internet. The sad truth is that you will never “finish” your website. Even if you launch it, there will still be improvements you can make.
This can be stressful, especially for designers who want to see the fruits of their labor. However, the beauty of web development is that you don’t have to do everything yourself. You can take help from freelancers and third-party developers.
You may also want to bring on permanent employees, such as administrators and moderators. While you can outsource these tasks, you also can’t ignore the need to hire in-house staff.
Sure, some technical errors can be fixed relatively quickly, but there’s always something new that pops up. For this reason, every site should be constantly monitored for bugs. Once a bug is discovered, you need to fix it immediately.
The Cloud Can Make Everything Easier
The cloud is changing how we build, manage, and run web applications. A decade ago, you could develop an application on your own hardware and host it. Now, all you need is a remote server.
With cloud hosting, you never have to worry about hardware failures. You can instantly switch over to a backup server if your server goes down.
The days of having to build everything from scratch are long gone. Now, you can leverage the power of cloud computing. This ensures that you get precisely what you want without worrying about the logistics.
GitHub Is Your Friend
GitHub is a social platform for developers and programmers. It allows users to make a “repo” or “repository” where they can store and manage their projects.
The best thing about hosting projects on GitHub is that it helps other coders understand how your code works. It also serves as a common ground for collaboration.
Because you’re building on top of an existing framework, learning how to use the code becomes much easier. With “forking,” you can clone a project and modify it. You can also directly “clone” the project from the original author.
The homepage features popular repositories, trending projects, and new releases. This makes it easy for aspiring programmers to find interesting projects and learn from them. If you’re a web developer, GitHub is a fantastic place to find worthwhile projects.
Web Development Is a Team Sport
There’s no doubt that you’ll need to work with a team to develop a successful web application. You can build it yourself, but it will take a lot longer. The speed at which you can work will be much faster if you work with a team of people.
You can divide up the workload, which will ensure that everyone is doing what they’re best at. You can also rely on each other, so if someone has problems, they can count on someone else. Working in a group will allow you to put out a better product in a shorter period of time.
The Bottom Line
Web development Is an ever-evolving field with technology that continues to change and improve. While there are core concepts, such as programming languages and style sheets, you need to be careful how you apply them.
Understanding what’s changed and what’s new will ensure that you stay ahead of the curve. Learning about new languages and frameworks is essential, but understanding their fundamentals is critical.
As the web continues to evolve, so will your skills. It doesn’t matter if you’re new to web dev or you’ve been doing it for years, there is always something more you can learn.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: BASH SARMIENTO
Bash Sarmiento is a writer and an educator from Manila. He writes laconic pieces in the education, lifestyle, and business realms. His academic background and extensive experience in teaching, textbook evaluation, business management, and traveling are translated into his works.